I wanted to add to the discussion, in the first thread, but it was closed before I had a chance to say something.
I think you've become unduly worried prematurally about Miss Kat's oral and listening skills. Don't forget something important......Miss Kat had the advantage of being hoh. So she's got a really good base of auditory memory to work with there. In other words she's got an advantage that a lot of other deaf newly implanted kids don't. I think you're so worried about Miss Kat's oral skills, that you've let yourself be unduly influenced by some very pro oral only propaganda.....well not propaganda (I KNOW I'm going to be attacked for using that term) but more....scare tatics.
You are doing the right thing right now......She's in a good educational program, where she's learning stuff, and you went private with speech therapy. She WILL develop speech skills. I think you think that she won't develop speech skills if she's not immersed in speech 24/7.
You're not neglecting your child's therapy needs at ALL. I think too that you look at the oral only kids and think that they got such good speech skills by being totally and completely oralized. Not quite....A lot of them are either the result of the private oral schools (the private school effect) or the fact that they grew up in a family that really emphasizes really high achievement (ie it's expected that the kids will go to an Ivy League School and be hedge fund managers or lawyers or something else really high achieveing.
I think you've become unduly worried prematurally about Miss Kat's oral and listening skills. Don't forget something important......Miss Kat had the advantage of being hoh. So she's got a really good base of auditory memory to work with there. In other words she's got an advantage that a lot of other deaf newly implanted kids don't. I think you're so worried about Miss Kat's oral skills, that you've let yourself be unduly influenced by some very pro oral only propaganda.....well not propaganda (I KNOW I'm going to be attacked for using that term) but more....scare tatics.
You are doing the right thing right now......She's in a good educational program, where she's learning stuff, and you went private with speech therapy. She WILL develop speech skills. I think you think that she won't develop speech skills if she's not immersed in speech 24/7.
You're not neglecting your child's therapy needs at ALL. I think too that you look at the oral only kids and think that they got such good speech skills by being totally and completely oralized. Not quite....A lot of them are either the result of the private oral schools (the private school effect) or the fact that they grew up in a family that really emphasizes really high achievement (ie it's expected that the kids will go to an Ivy League School and be hedge fund managers or lawyers or something else really high achieveing.
Yes, indeedy! There's also the fact that people who interact with dhh folks tend to subconsciously change their speech patterns to make it easier for them to understand them.
